This morning I got up late. It had been a long day, and a late night, working on the restoration of At The Rainbow from the arson fire last Aug. 6 and since today is Saturday, I felt that I and my friend here working on the property could rightly take some time and sleep in.
By the strangest of coincidences, my friend, not I, was the first one awake, and after awhile as I continued to sleep and sleep, he sought a way to wake me pleasantly. Attaching Youtube to his bluetooth speaker, he started playing several morning songs for me to wake by.
When I was alert enough to realize the music, I knew all the songs until it got to this one:
My friend expected me to be moved by this song, hopeful as he saw it, but I told him it didn’t sing to me, it felt cold, distant — it lacked immanence.
He asked me what I meant by immanence. I replied one word — “Immanuel”.
Just as he was surprised by my response, I was surprised by his: “Emmanual Cleaver”.
“No No, definitely not him” I replied. “And you shall call His name Immanuel — God With Us”.
My mind had been trolling for some morning songs with Immanence before he started talking about the above song, and I had pegged on two: one a version by Michael Card, another by Sandi Patti. But when I reached to cue Youtube for the next song, I saw it had a different Michael Card clip queued. I had it play it:
It didn’t sing of morning, rather mourning, but it certainly was full of immanence. And in the talk portion following the song, when Michael Card mentioned that most of the Psalms are laments, but all are praise, I had to blurt out “Great is Thy Faithfullness.” That well-known hymn is based on Lamentation, actually Lamentation 3:23.
Card talks about struggling as a part and form of worship. When he did that I blurted out “Job” (see footnote). That book of the Bible tells the life of one who suffered and argued with and also praised God. We here at At The Rainbow are in a deep period of struggle, and that struggle is our praise to Him.
When that completed, I searched the Michael Card song I had originally thought of:
I was getting ready to queue the Sandi Patti song when I saw that Youtube was suggesting the below Keith Green Song, so let it play:
This clip is still as current, still as immanent, as it was when Green appeared on 100HuntleyStreet. I can’t say it any better than he did, and can certainly say it a lot worse.
So finally to the Sandi Patti song, almost an anti-climax, but full of the Hope of the Resurrection, of Easter morning.
Post Script: The above ends this musical mediation on morning and Immanence, but to fill in the context, there were three other songs he played before the one that left me cold with its lack of immanence:
I wasn’t really awake when the Cat Stevens song played, but heard both of the other ones. So I went and replayed it — and realized it was a different song from the Michael Card song with the same title. All because of one letter — “L” — added to the last word of the first verse. The meaning of the entire text changes completely when the last word is “world” and not “word” — the latter word being the one penned by the original author and composer of the song. And it all turns on Immanence. “In the beginning was the Word”. It all turns on Immanuel. The Hope of God With Us.
I hope you didn’t skim the videos, but watched them all fully. And imbued with all your heart, soul, mind and strength the greatness and hope His Immanence brings.
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Footnote: The life of Job, a story of struggle, praise and immanence
At The Rainbow 
I remember thinking back years ago when I first heard the Bette Midler song that a God who was so far away that He had no knowledge of what the world was like was not comforting at all.
I far prefer the song In This Very Room:
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